LG's Trax is a slim, almost completely flat-surfaced multimedia phone promising music, pictures and video. Did it do any of them well?
Review summary of the LG TRAX:
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 The Trax screams "average." It doesn't do anything particularly well, and its built-in camera is atrocious. We didn't find it to be particularly attractive either, although the slim profile may appeal to some. Phone calls weren't clear and the speakerphone couldn't handle high volumes. Messaging was convenient, if basic, but the IM clients were cumbersome. The only thing we genuinely enjoyed was watching AT&T's Cellular Video, but spending so much extra per month to watch a grainy video service on a $30 phone might not be the best idea. Release: August 2007. Price: $30.
Pros: Cellular Video worked well, minimal buffering
Cons: Poor quality camera, below average call quality
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Full LG TRAX Review:
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Design - Good
The design of the LG Trax is pretty boring, with dull gray tones throughout, but we commend LG for thinking "flat" and sticking with it. With the exception of the slightly raised camera lens, every surface on the phone is completely flat, including the keypad. The 65,000-color, 176 by 220 pixel screen was underwhelming, although we will say the mirrored external LCD was at the very least visually impressive. We guess flip phone manufacturers still haven't figured out an attractive way to build the flexing joint, because it's the only real eyesore on the whole phone.
Calling - Good
The phone's microphone performance was poor, as our voice sounded fuzzy on the other end. When we whispered, the Trax hardly picked us up. Callers on the other end could easily tell we were on a cell phone. Bluetooth pairing was painless, although we did have to do some light menu digging in order to find it. We liked that speakerphone was a top-level menu option while in a call, but the speaker couldn't handle voices at its highest volume level, distorting and muffling the sound. We had problems with our test unit sending photos to a computer via Bluetooth, trying multiple machines; we were able to send extremely low-resolution sample photos from our phone but not our own 1.3-megapixel shots.
Messaging - Good
We liked that with one click of the up button on the D-pad we were composing an SMS, and we only needed to navigate through one submenu to get to the main messaging screen. MMS worked well, sending our picture message with no hassles. The included AIM client was typical, if not good; it wouldn't load our entire buddy list, only those users designated as "mobile." However, we were able to receive IMs from users even though they weren't on the phone's buddy list. The biggest problem we experienced with the IM program was delay, sometimes getting messages sent 20-30 minutes before we received them. Unfortunately, this seems to be a common problem with mobile IM services.
Music - Good
Without an over-the-air download service like Verizon's or Sprint's, music must be sideloaded from your computer onto a microSD card (not included). If you don't have a card reader for your computer or a digital camera that can serve as external disk, you'll need to purchase the proprietary USB cable to do it. The touch-sensitive external music controls were awkward, but we liked that the player could be minimized, reducing it to a line scrolling along the bottom of the main screen. Playback controls were limited to play, fast forward and rewind, but there were repeat and shuffle options in the Now Playing submenu. Our stereo Bluetooth headphones worked well, and we were even a little impressed at how well the speakers were driven. The signal was clear and never once dropped out on us.
Video - Very Good
The standard AT&T Cellular Video (CV) was neither mind-blowing nor exceptionally poor. After pausing videos a couple times, we had buffering issues, but for the most part, after the intial pre-video buffer period, we didn't have many connection issues. AT&T's CV selection is sparse, but full episodes of ABC shows like "LOST" were available, and for a fee so is HBO Mobile, with full episodes of "Sex and the City," "Entourage" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm." We were extremely disappointed that stereo Bluetooth didn't work with CV, an omission we don't understand at all. We've used it for CV on other phones, and we thought it worked well on the Trax music player.
Web - Good
The browser had major issues connecting to our graphics-heavy site, sitting on the spinning hourglass for 5 minutes before we gave up. It loaded the New York Times' WAP-friendly mobile site easily, however, leading us to believe the Trax is good for cell phone-friendly sites but doesn't play nice with anything not designed to be read on a tiny screen.
Camera - Mediocre
The built-in camera is one of the worst 1.3-megapixel cameras we've seen on a phone. Colors were washed out, lines blurred and our photos had little to no clarity. We couldn't imagine using it for even the most casual of uses. We also noticed some lag in the camera application, especially when switching from the camera to the photo gallery, which brought up an extremely low-resolution hourglass icon.
Odds and Ends
We still don't understand how cell phone companies release "music" phones like the Trax and don't include headphones. The phone doesn't even have a 2.5mm headphone jack, let alone a standard 3.5mm that would let users continue to use their own headphones. Instead, the power plug serves as the headset/headphone jack, only accepting proprietary plugs. Also, with no over-the-air music download service to speak of, sideloading mp3s is the only way to get music onto your phone. The process is delineated in the included Quick Start guide, but the required USB cable and microSD card are also optional accessories.
Price and availability
The LG Trax is available from AT&T for $30 with a contract agreement.
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